Classic singing square, here in a live recording (1960s?) with caller Herbie Gaudreau. Today's contra callers probably know Gaudreau better than do contemporary square dance callers; his Becket Reel is the source for today's "Becket formation" in contras, with long lines of couples, each facing another couple across the set. Tony Parkes comments:…

This summary of an interview with Jimmy Clossin by Miriam Gray appeared in 1960. More than 50 years later, it is impressive the ways in which he anticipated the challenges facing the square dance movement. This excerpt provides a taste of Clossin's views:

"Mr. Clossin stated that recent activities in square dance have created confusion and have…

The next clips we have are from another dance at Newton Pavilion seven years later. By then the calls Swing Thru and Spin the Top had been added to the call vocabulary and Red makes use of both in this tip. All of the calls in this tip would be included on the Mainstream List seven years later when it was established by CALLERLAB.

The singing call, Woman In Love, is a classic and Red uses the figure as it was recorded by Dick Leger on Grenn record #12128. Tempo is a characteristic of calling that underwent considerable change. This singing call was at 132 beats per minute (bpm), the fastest of any in this set of clips by Red Bates but a very common pace for MWSD at that…

By the time of our first clip from a 1961 dance at the Newton Pavilion in Newton, NH, Bates was a busy caller working dances throughout New England. The choreography is very representative of MWSD at that time. It includes a mixture of the Ed Gilmore Ends Turn In routine, Star action and a Susie Q.

These are two programs of Massachusetts caller Corky Calkins, one from 1965 and the other from 1967. They were noted by Connecticut caller Ralph Sweet who for decades carried a small notebook with him to dances and recorded the programs and any unusual figures used by the caller. The 1967 program took place in Sweet's own Power Mill Barn in…

This 1969 film was created by Joan Lockhart Bennett as part of her master's degree project for Ilinois State University, Normal, IL.. As an instructional tool this film covers a lot of ground: formation, honors, balance, swing, shoes, walking step, hand positions, posture, circles, dosado, Figure 8, all around left hand lady, weave the ring, grand…

The Don Messer Jubilee Show toured extensively, bring Down East music, song, and dance to audiences throughout the US and Canada. Messer was well known thanks to his weekly television show broadcast and three-times-a-week tadio broadcasts.

The short biography below came with his Messer's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in…